Commencement Weekend at SMU is a mixture of time-honored practice and modern refinements, from the custom regalia to the Rotunda Recessional. Here is a roundup of the traditions and symbols that make up the University’s 21st-century approach to these ancient ceremonies.

CEREMONIES

Baccalaureate Service for Undergraduate Candidates

The Baccalaureate Service is a religious ceremony held in McFarlin Auditorium the Friday evening before May Commencement Convocation. This is a small and intimate service that features a special sermon for undergraduate candidates and their guests.

Wearing full regalia, candidates process into McFarlin and are seated together. Weather permitting, students line up on the Main Quad in the order of their arrival.

Rotunda Recessional

The Rotunda Recessional follows the Baccalaureate Service. Undergraduate candidates, led by faculty and alumni marshals, march through the front doors of Dallas Hall, across its Rotunda and around to the University’s Main Quad. This tradition marks the new graduates’ symbolic departure from the Hilltop and welcomes them into their new phase of membership in the SMU community – their lives as alumni.

The march is a bookend to another symbolic tradition, the Rotunda Passage. Before Opening Convocation, held the day before their first day of classes as first-years, students process through the back doors of Dallas Hall, across the Rotunda and onto the Main Quad as new members of the SMU student body.

Commencement Convocation

On Saturday morning, the all-University May Commencement Convocation assembles degree candidates from all of SMU’s schools and professional programs in Moody Coliseum. Students and faculty, dressed in full academic regalia, march to the ceremony to processional music.

Doctoral candidates and honorary degree recipients are hooded, Commencement speakers address our newest class of candidates, and the University president confers degrees. At the conclusion of the ceremony, “Varsity” is played and a prayer is said for the new alumni.

Diploma Presentation Ceremonies

Wearing full academic regalia, graduates are individually recognized in school or departmental ceremonies.

What should students do before they depart campus in May? I hope these tips will help make the transition to summer a bit easier.

• Forward mail to summer address.
• Pay fines for any overdue library books.
• Resell textbooks back to the bookstore.
• Clean their residence hall room or apartment to avoid penalty fees.
• Return all keys in the proper manner to avoid penalty fees.
• After finals, get a good night’s sleep before driving long distances home.
• If your student needs to store items over the summer, see “Summer storage” below.

SMU dedicated its new Residential Commons complex May 9, enabling all first-year and sophomore students to live on campus and launching the Residential Commons model campus-wide.

The $146 million complex is the largest capital project in SMU’s history, part of a larger initiative to enhance students’ living-learning experience, starting in fall 2014. The dedication ceremony and building tours will begin at noon at 5905 Bush Ave. on the southeastern edge of the campus.

“Today’s dedication of the Residential Commons complex signifies an exciting new chapter in SMU history,” said SMU President R. Gerald Turner. “Each Commons is designed to seamlessly combine the intellectual and social aspects of University life, a concept that will be implemented campus-wide in the fall. We are grateful to six generous families for transforming the SMU campus experience.”

Each five-story Commons in the new complex will be home to 250 students, a residence life director and a faculty member in residence. The faculty member will serve as mentor and intellectual leader of the community, and has the opportunity to teach a class or host study sessions in the classroom included in each Commons.

The ceremony, including Rawlings’ address, will be broadcast live at smu.edu/live.

Elected mayor in June 2011, Rawlings immediately took on a broad agenda of citywide improvements. He has created new strategies for growing the arts through the Mayor’s Business Arts Initiative, has used his visibility as mayor to organize a campaign against domestic violence and has put Dallas in the spotlight by taking a leading role with the U.S. Conference of Mayors, which will meet in Dallas June 20-23, 2014.

With the launch of GrowSouth, Rawlings outlined a comprehensive strategy designed to boost the economic impact of southern Dallas. GrowSouth already has been a catalyst for new economic investment, job creation and public-private partnerships. In 2012, The Dallas Morning News praised Rawlings, saying, “After only six months, Rawlings has accomplished more for southern Dallas than many of his predecessors managed in their entire terms.”

Rawlings has adopted four DISD schools in southern Dallas in areas primed for growth and also is working closely with Commit!, an education collaborative for Dallas-area schools. SMU partners with Rawlings on the Mayor’s Summer Reading Club, which provides incentives to keep children reading over the summer months, as well as the Mayor’s Intern Fellows Program, an eight-week, paid summer internship program for students from public and charter high schools in Dallas.

“Mike Rawlings has a passion for improving the quality of life in Dallas,” said SMU President R. Gerald Turner. “He is using his platform as mayor to work for more livable neighborhoods, increased economic opportunity throughout the city and strong public education for Dallas children. We prepare our graduates to become world changers, and I can’t think of a better example for them than Mayor Rawlings.”

The U.S. Department of Education announced May 1 that procedures regarding sexual misconduct and harassment are being examined at 55 higher education institutions. (Read the announcement.)

The University announced in a statement that:

“SMU applauds the U.S. Department of Education’s efforts to eradicate sexual violence on college campuses and to provide universities with additional tools to combat sexual assault. Our goals are the same.

“The matters under review by the Education Department have been investigated by SMU and predate our University task force review of sexual misconduct policies and procedures. The University has been aggressive in putting into practice wide-ranging new procedures to inform and protect our students, to provide prompt and effective resolution of complaints, and to hold violators accountable while treating all students fairly.

“SMU continually reviews and updates its programs in comparison with national benchmarks, and we are pleased that the White House also has made these matters a priority for all American universities. No issue is more important than the health and safety of our students.”

SMU provided additional information:

The Department of Education is reviewing three SMU cases that predate the University’s Task Force on Sexual Misconduct Policies and Procedures. One case involved a complaint of inappropriate language in a classroom; one involved an alleged sexual assault that was later dismissed by the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office; and the third case, which does not involve a sexual assault allegation, is currently the subject of litigation.

A year ago, SMU President R. Gerald Turner adopted the task force’s recommendations for new and revised policies and procedures, including programs promoting education and training. Students, faculty and staff members have implemented many of these recommendations and continue to develop others.

Read an op-ed about sexual misconduct prevention efforts from Vice President for Student Affairs Lori S. White and SMU Title IX Coordinator Samantha Thomas in the May 2 Daily Campus.

A semester’s end brings final exams, projects and often stress to students. SMU’s learning specialists say that if students plan accordingly for the last stretch of the semester, success comes more easily and with less stress. Final exams this year are scheduled for May 7-13, with Reading Days scheduled May 6.

“Final exam week is different from any other week throughout the semester; therefore, it is vital that students plan ahead for when they are going to study, sleep and relax during that week,” says Rebecca Umobong, senior academic counselor at SMU’s Altshuler Learning Enhancement Center (A-LEC). “I encourage students to use A-LEC’s Finals Week Master Schedule to plan how they will spend their time.”

A-LEC academic counselor David Lee says, “As part of the finals planning stage, students should analyze each of their past tests and papers looking to identify any repetitive errors or problem areas. These are important focal points for exam preparation.” Lee also suggests that students reflect on how they have studied in the past in order to adjust and improve study practices.

A-LEC offers learning strategies workshops throughout the semester, including “Prepare for Finals: The Last Week,” on Monday, April 28 and Tuesday, April 29. Students should bring their calendars and all syllabi to the workshops.

Click the “More” link for A-LEC’s tips for students on final exam preparation and for parents on supporting their students during finals.

Offering more than 400 courses, SMU Summer Studies allows students to make progress on their degrees, change or add majors or minors, and add value to their education with smaller courses that cost less than regular-term courses. The schedule includes:

SMU-in-Taos: Northern New Mexico’s Sangre de Cristo mountains provide a spectacular backdrop for classes in art, archaeology, biology, business, history, marketing and more. The May Term at SMU-in-Taos is May 14-May 31; the June Term is June 4-July 3; the Mini June Term is June 4-June 21; and the August Term is August 5-22. Find the course schedule here.

SMU Abroad: SMU offers a number of summer learning, service and internship opportunities in locales ranging from Paris to Bali.

SMU students, faculty, staff and administrators were recognized with service honors, teaching awards and the University’s highest commendation, the “M” Award, at the 2014 Awards Extravaganza Monday, April 21.

Bing has developed and managed global health programs in Africa, Central America and the Caribbean, including HIV prevention, care and treatment programs in Rwanda, Angola, Nigeria, Namibia, Belize and Jamaica. At the Bush Institute, he has initiated worldwide health initiatives, including serving as co-leader of the Institute’s Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon partnership, an $85 million public-private program designed to combat cervical and breast cancer in Africa and Latin America. In addition, he has published more than 90 articles and abstracts. His book, Pharmacy on a Bicycle: Innovative Solutions in Global Health and Poverty, was released in May 2013.

Later, the University presents several awards for excellence – including its highest honor, the “M” Award – during the 2014 Awards Extravaganza at 7:30 p.m. in the Hughes-Trigg Student Center Ballrooms. SMU Student Body President Ramon Trespalacios will speak at the event. Awards Extravaganza honorees will be listed in SMU Forum the day after the ceremony.

SMU junior Rahfin Faruk has been named a 2014 Truman Scholar. The prestigious and highly competitive national scholarship recognizes college students who are “change agents,” with outstanding leadership potential and a commitment to public service careers.

Faruk was one of 59 students, mostly college juniors, from 52 U.S. colleges and universities selected to receive the award, which provides up to $30,000 for graduate study. He is the 14th Truman Scholar at SMU since the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation was established by Congress in 1975. He was one of 655 candidates nominated by 293 colleges and universities for one of academia’s most sought-after awards.

Faruk, of Richardson, Texas, is an SMU President’s Scholar majoring in economics, political science, public policy and religious studies, with a minor in mathematics, in Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences. He plans to pursue an MBA and a master’s in public policy to work in the social enterprise sector.

“As someone who wants to break down sectoral boundaries, I was attracted to the societal impact I could have as a Truman Scholar,” Faruk says. “Truman Scholars are everywhere – in a wide array of sectors and functions – and they are working to serve humanity in better ways.”

“It’s fitting that the Truman Scholarship Foundation honored Rahfin Faruk as a change agent,” said SMU Provost Paul Ludden. “Rahfin not only has excelled academically, but he also has applied his knowledge and research skills to important issues facing the North Texas and global community. With his record of servant leadership on campus and in the community, Rahfin is an SMU world changer with big ideas who no doubt will make a significant contribution as a Truman Scholar.”

Two SMU juniors also were selected as finalists for the Truman Scholarship: Prithvi Rudrappa, a Dedman College Scholar majoring in biochemistry in Dedman College and finance in Cox School of Business, with a minor in Spanish; and Fantine Giap, a President’s Scholar majoring in biological sciences and minoring in mathematics and psychology in Dedman College.